HARGEISA (HORN OBSERVER) – Somaliland’s President, Muse Bihi Abdi, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali on Monday, granting Ethiopia a lease for a 20-kilometer sea base in the Red Sea.
In the agreement, Ethiopia gains the right to station its navy in the Red Sea and secure access to the sea.
"Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has asked me to sign the MoU, which, in return, Ethiopia will be the first country to recognize Somaliland as an independent republic,” President Bihi announced during an event in Addis Ababa on Monday.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister and his government officials applauded as Bihi delivered the speech.
While still seeking international recognition since its separation from Somalia in 1992, Somaliland aims to strengthen its ties with Ethiopia through this strategic agreement.
“Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is a sovereign state in the Horn of Africa recognised by Ethiopia, but is unrecognized and considered by the rest of the international community as de jure part of Somalia.[8][9][10][11] It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, and Somalia to the east.[12][13][14][15] Its claimed territory has an area of 176,120 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi),[16] with approximately 5.7 million residents as of 2021.”
This could be a good thing or a disaster waiting to happen.